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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28202397">Inlay with Squares of Gold the Winter Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/inexplicifics/pseuds/inexplicifics'>inexplicifics</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Accidental Warlord and His Pack [35]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Multi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter Solstice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:41:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>680</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28202397</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/inexplicifics/pseuds/inexplicifics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaskier's first four winter solstices in Kaer Morhen - the nights are long and cold, but the company is warm.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Accidental Warlord and His Pack [35]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683661</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1874</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Inlay with Squares of Gold the Winter Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His first winter in Kaer Morhen, Jaskier spends Longest Night alone, sitting in the window of his rooms and playing and singing softly to the chilly darkness outside, songs to encourage the sun to return, to rise again and begin the new year. It’s a little lonely, and he can’t help remembering two years ago, his last winter at Oxenfurt, when Pris and Shani and half a dozen other students all crammed into his little room and drank and sang and laughed the whole night through, and greeted the sunrise with a drunken, tuneful chorus of an ancient hymn, and fell asleep all in a heap together. But it’s no lonelier than last year; in Tretogor, Longest Night is much like any other, and Jaskier didn’t even have the comfort of his music to sustain him through the dark hours.</p>
<p>His second winter in Kaer Morhen, Jaskier spends Longest Night with Geralt, curled up together on the couch in Geralt’s sitting room, trading stories and songs. It’s quiet and calm and absolutely lovely, and Jaskier falls asleep on Geralt’s shoulder in the light of the new year’s first sunrise, and wakes to discover that Geralt has left him tucked securely into the big bed, thoroughly heaped with blankets, with a brand-new cloak draped over the end of the bed for him to find. He’s very glad he has a gift for Geralt, too: a drawing of Ciri and Geralt together, laughing over some private joke, which Jaskier commissioned from Serrit of the Vipers and had framed by Ivo of the Bears.</p>
<p>Jaskier’s third winter in Kaer Morhen, Geralt’s quarters are a little crowded on Longest Night: Jaskier and Geralt and Eskel have claimed the couch, and Ciri and Aubry are sharing the hearth and the affection of the black-and-white cat, Yen and Triss are sharing a conjured loveseat, and Lambert has settled into the remaining chair with Milena on his lap and Aiden draped over his feet, in almost the same pose as the <em>actual</em> cat. The night goes quickly with so many people to tell tales, and Jaskier even manages to get everyone to sing along with his playing, and the morning’s gift-giving is full of laughter and merriment.</p>
<p>Jaskier’s fourth winter in Kaer Morhen, he looks at the crowd gathered for Longest Night and laughs. “I think,” he says, “we had better move this to the great hall, my dears.”</p>
<p>He settles on Geralt’s lap in the big double chair, and Yen conjures enough comfortable couches and big squashy chairs for an army, and Eskel sits down at Geralt’s feet and leans back to let Jaskier play with his hair, and Ciri demands that she be allowed to show off the acrobatics she’s been learning this year before she sits down to listen to stories, and Jaskier -</p>
<p>Well, he didn’t think he’d ever have a Longest Night to match the ones in Oxenfurt, but this one may well be even finer. He never thought he’d have a family worth the name, really, but here they all are: Vesemir sharing a little keg of dark ale with Guxart, Lambert and Aiden and Milena playing some sort of distressing game involving very fast-moving knives, Dragonfly cuddling Livi while the girl explains something to do with grain reports, Mouse and Treyse whispering secrets to each other, Zofia leaning back against Auckes and watching Milena with a slightly worried air, Aubry dangling a bit of string for the black-and-white cat, Yen and Triss laughing as they conjure translucent illusions for Ciri to evade and defeat. And of course Geralt with his arms around Jaskier’s waist, and Eskel with one hand curled around Jaskier’s ankle and his head resting on Geralt’s knee, all of them safe in the heart of the sanctuary they have built together.</p>
<p>“Next year,” he says softly to his Wolves, “we should really just invite the whole keep. Make a proper celebration of it.”</p>
<p>Geralt hums agreement, and Eskel chuckles and kisses the side of Jaskier’s knee, and really, Jaskier doesn’t think he could be happier if he tried.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all for your comments, kudos, and support, which has made this year far more bearable. May you all have a pleasant winter holiday, and may 2021 be a vast improvement for us all.</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28227213">[Podfic] Inlay with Squares of Gold the Winter Night</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOfTigers/pseuds/AceOfTigers">AceOfTigers</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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